McConnell Strikes to Guarantee He Is Not Changed by a Democrat if He Leaves Workplace Early

In almost every state in the country, the governor elects a replacement to extend the remainder of a senator’s term if he leaves office prematurely, for example through resignation or death. The governor, an elected official, almost always selects someone from his own party to serve as a servant, then the voters vote in the next election.

But Mitch McConnell, Senate minority chairman, whose governor in Kentucky is Democrat Andy Beshear, is campaigning for the law to be changed.

Kentucky Republican Senate President Robert Stivers “has McConnell’s support” in changing the law, the Louisville Courier Journal reports.

“Stivers’ proposal, enacted Wednesday as Senate Law 228, would require the governor to choose someone with the same political party as the outgoing senator.”

McConnell spokesman Robert Steurer says: “Leader McConnell has discussed the legislation with President Stivers and fully supports the measure.”

In addition to selecting someone from the party of the outgoing senator, the governor would also have to legally select a name from a list of three given to him by that senator’s party.

In other words, the replacement for a senator who dies in office or who resigns before the end of his term of office would not actually be chosen by an elected official but by the party bosses, thereby further establishing the political parties in law.

McConnell is 78 years old. Some Democrats wonder why this new piece of legislation is being proposed now.